German trucker suspected of 19 murdersTHE HAGUE, March 19, 2007 (AFP) - A detained German truck driver is suspected of being behind at least 19 murders over more than 30 years in Germany, France and Spain, a European police agency said Monday.
The 48-year-old man, who was arrested in November, “is suspected of having committed at least 19 murders between 1974, when the suspect was 15-years-old, and 2006,” the agency said, adding that most of the victims were prostitutes.
The man was arrested by German authorities in Cologne, who identified him only as Volker E., after he was recorded by a CCTV camera from a private Spanish company while disposing of one of his victims, according to Eurojust, the European justice coordination agency.
When confronted with the evidence, the agency said the suspect allegedly admitted to five murders in Spain and France as well as his first in Germany, when he was 15 and the victim was 14 years old.
The crimes took place in the Spanish regions of Barcelona and Figueras, Plauen in Germany and Saintes and Reims in France, Eurojust said, adding that other unsolved cases in Europe were being investigated.
The prosecutor in the German city of Hof, the suspect’s home town, on Monday hailed Eurojust’s decision to give the Germany the authority to prosecute the alleged serial killer.
When the suspect was picked up, German police found hair, clothing and photos of murdered prostitutes in Spain and in France. The suspect allegedly strangled the women between 1999 and 2006 for ■■■■■■ reasons.
Copyright AFP
Subject: French news